COUNCIL MEMBER, 39TH DISTRICT DISTRICT OFFICE 456 5TH AVE, 3RD FLOOR BROOKLYN, NY 11215 (718) 499-1090

FAX: (718) 499-1997 CITY HALL OFFICE 250 BROADWAY, 17TH FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10007 (212) 788-6969 FAX: (212) 788-8967 lander@council.nyc.gov

BRAD LANDER

COMMITTEES
LANDMARKS, PUBLIC SITING & MARITIME USES, CHAIR

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GENERAL WELFARE LAND USE HOUSING & BUILDINGS WATERFRONTS

July 27, 2011 Michael Halkias Grand Prospect Hall 263 Prospect Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11215 Re: Proposed hotel and parking garage at Grand Prospect Hall concerns and questions Dear Mr. Halkias, I am writing to follow up on our conversations about your preliminary proposal to build a new hotel and parking garage at Grand Prospect Hall, and to raise a number of serious concerns and questions about the project, which raise doubts about whether the project would be appropriate for our community as proposed. First, I do want to thank you for publicly presenting your plans earlier this year at a meeting of the Community Board 7 Land Use Committee, as I requested when we first met to discuss the project. I appreciate that you came to the community and Community Board 7 prior to submitting a formal application to the NYC Department of City Planning for any rezoning, and well in advance of the required public review process. The public engagement process is essential to determining whether a rezoning is appropriate. Your willingness to approach the community very early in the process provides an opportunity for essential dialogue between you and your neighbors. At the same time, the proposal that you presented raised numerous questions and concerns from community board members and neighborhood residents. These questions and concerns include the following: 1. A soil sample boring test must be conducted by an independent testing company and analyzed by a structural engineer, to assess the sites structural viability and how far underground you would be able to build the garage without incurring unreasonable expense. This is necessary both to address any structural issues (related to adjacency on the highway) and the possibility that more of the proposed structure could be built underground. 2. An environmental review will be necessary to answer the following questions: a. What impacts would the new parking garage and hotel have on traffic levels and patterns on Prospect Avenue and 16th Street as compared to existing operations of patron parking services and deliveries? b. What upgrades to city infrastructure would be needed to accommodate the additional stress from the hotel and parking garage? c. How would exhaust be extracted from the garage? What environmental effects, including noise and fumes, would this proposed exhaust extraction system have on the garages neighbors?
PRINTED IN-HOUSE

d. How should waste from the hotel be disposed including both during storage and removal? What effects would this system have on the hotels neighbors? 3. What zoning classification would the garage and hotel be built under? 4. How high would this proposed structure be? 5. Would homes on 16th Street have to be destroyed to create car and truck access to the proposed hotel and garage from that street? 6. Would the proposed hotels mechanical system fans be noisy for those living near it? How would this be addressed? 7. How many parking spaces would be available for community usage on a monthly basis and would these spaces be available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week? How many parking spaces would be available for community usage on a daily basis and during what hours? How many parking spaces would be available for community usage on an hourly basis? 8. What would the construction timeline for the hotel and garage be? What disruptions (noise, offsite staging areas, ongoing valet operation without use of the existing parking lot, etc.) would the community expect during the construction period? 9. Would you commit to using a responsible contractor (we are attaching responsible contractor guidelines developed by Brooklyns Community Board 6)? 10. How many construction jobs would be generated by the construction of the hotel and garage? What would these jobs pay? Would they be living wage, prevailing wage, or union jobs? How many permanent jobs would be provided by the proposed hotel and garage, once constructed? Would they be living wage, prevailing wage, or union jobs? I look forward to taking part in further dialogue with you and the community to address these concerns and questions. If you have any questions or concerns, please Jonah Blumstein in my office at 718-4991090, or JBlumstein@Council.NYC.gov. Again, thank you for communicating with my office and the community about your proposal at this early stage. Sincerely,

Brad Lander Councilmember, 39th District Cc: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz Assemblywoman Joan Millman State Senator Velmanette Montgomery South Park Slope Community Group Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights Community Board 7 Brooklyn Department of City Planning Congresswoman Nydia Velzquez

PRINTED IN-HOUSE